Noon meal centres aim for ISO certification 17 1,917 49,85,335 43,283

In the first phase, 100 noon meal centres will obtain ISO 9001 certification to increase the quality of the service. The Social Welfare Department launched the nutritious meal programme in 1982. Its objective was to enhance the enrolment of students and retain attendance in schools and simultaneously improve the nutritional level among children.

Free lunch is being provided to students till Class 10 in government schools, government-aided schools, special training centres such as Madarasas and Maktabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. At present, 43,283 noon meal centres are functioning in the State and about 49.85 lakh students are being benefited, an official said.

“In order to ensure the quality and to give a facelift to the scheme, it has been decided to obtain ISO 9001: 2015 certification for 100 noon meal centres across the State”, he added. He said the main objective of getting certification is to increase the quality of services, increase the competitiveness of noon meal centres, better management and reduce the costs through continual improvement.

Stating that a company will be appointed to achieve the ISO certification, he said that the centres will be examined based several parameters, including people’s participation, steps initiated to deal with malnutrition and maintenance of records.

The official added that there are 13 varieties of meals and different kinds of egg masalas provided to the children. “The auditing company will also give suggestions to further improve the quality of the meal,” he said, adding that another 500 centres will be upgraded with ISO certification in the second phase.